HK LegCo passes law against unfair trade practices

2012-07-17 07:08:27 GMT2012-07-17 15:08:27(Beijing Time) Xinhua English

HONG KONG, July 17 (Xinhua) -- The Trade Descriptions (Unfair Trade Practices) (Amendment) Bill 2012 was passed by the Legislative Council (LegCo) on Tuesday.

The Bill seeks to tackle various common types of unfair practices that may be deployed by rogue traders against consumers.

By creating new offences against such practices as false trade descriptions of services, misleading omissions, aggressive commercial practices, bait advertising, bait-and-switch and wrongly accepting payment, and by strengthening enforcement mechanisms, the Bill buttresses the consumer protection regime in Hong Kong.

The city's Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Gregory So said, "By stamping out rogue practices, the Bill will help maintain a fair market and benefit both honest traders and consumers."

He added that the government aim to bring the Bill into operation next year.

In July 2010, the government consulted the public on the proposals in the Bill, which received wide community support. The Bill was introduced into the Legislative Council in February 2012.

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